The application filed Friday seeks more than half of an $8 billion pot of stimulus money set aside for high-speed rail development across the country.

Schwarzenegger said California deserved such a large chunk because it is farther along in planning than other states and is ready to break ground in 2011, a year earlier than federal guidelines call for.

California High Speed Rail Authority officials said the train network would generate 600,000 construction-related jobs while it was being planned and built and that it would create another 450,000 permanent jobs during its operation.